Medicine and literary studies are often thematically aligned, since the former can be understood as an interpretive science. Literary texts across all genres and time periods deal with medical issues portraying illness, patients suffering and recovering, or doctors at work, thus pointing towards a deep-seated interest in the human condition. Enveloping the growing interdisciplinary field of medical humanities this book examines the connections between medicine and fictional and non-fictional literature from the Early Modern period to the most recent present from literary, medical and cultural studies perspectives.

Alexandra Lembert-Heidenreich is Assistant Professor in the Department of English at the University of Leipzig.

Jarmila Mildorf teaches English language, literature and culture at the University of Paderborn.